Schools in Germany are advising pupils to bring blankets to class and wear hats, coats and scarves during lessons as part of the fight against the coronavirus.

Head teachers have issued the advice in response to new government guidelines that require schools to ventilate classrooms by opening the windows every 20 minutes.

Leaving the windows open a crack is not enough. Schools have been told to open classroom windows fully for three to five minutes, and to open doors as well when possible so air can circulate.

Daytime temperatures are already as low as 5 degrees Celsius in parts of Germany and many classrooms are too cold to study in comfort.

With winter temperatures often well below zero, no one is under any illusions about how cold classrooms could get.

A sixth form college in Bochum has advised pupils to bring “warm clothes with hoods or hats and blankets” to class, and secondary schools in Düsseldorf are allowing pupils to wear coats and gloves during lessons.

In a letter to pupils, the regional education minister for Lower Saxony warned that “things will get a little cold” and urged them to “dress warmly.”

Doctors have spoken out against the new government regulations, warning they will cause a wave of colds and other infections.

“The rules are absurd,” Stephan Pilsinger, a Munich GP turned politician told Bild newspaper. “They’re a health hazard.”

“During the cold months, thick sweaters, scarves and blankets will now be part of the basic equipment for schoolchildren,” said Susanne Lin-Klitzing of the Philologenverband teachers’ union.

She said staff and pupils would have to dress “according to the onion principle” — with multiple layers they can remove as classrooms warm up between ventilation times.

Germany was one of the first European countries to reopen schools following the first wave of the pandemic, and returned to full class sizes at the end of the summer holidays.

The regional government in Hamburg bought 30,000 transparent plastic head visors to distribute to schools in August. But it has now told schools they do not provide sufficient protection and should not be used. Pupils and staff are required to wear facemasks while moving about instead.

Words to Learn 相关词汇

【通风】tōngfēng ventilate cause air to enter and circulate freely

【充分的】chōngfèn de sufficient enough, adequate

作为抗疫举措之一，德国学校建议学生带毯子来上学，戴帽子围巾、穿厚外套上课。

新的政府指导意见要求学校每20分钟要开窗通风一次，为此各校长发布了这一建议。

窗户只开一条缝是不够的。政府要求学校每次要保持教室窗户大开长达3到5分钟，如果可能的话也要打开门，以保持空气流通。

德国部分地区的日间气温已经低至5摄氏度，许多教室都冷得没法好好学习了。

冬天气温通常是零下好几度，谁都能想象到开窗通风情况下教室会有多冷。

波鸿市高中建议学生带“连帽保暖衣服或帽子和毯子”来上课，杜塞尔多夫市的中学允许学生在上课时穿外套戴手套。

在致学生的一封信中，德国下萨克森州的教育部长警告说，“教室里会有点冷”，敦促学生们“穿暖和些”。

医生们公开反对这一政府新规，警告说这会导致一波感冒和其他感染。

曾在慕尼黑做过全科医生后来改行从政的斯蒂芬▪皮尔辛格博士告诉《图片报》说：“这些规定太荒谬了，它们会对健康造成危害。”

德国语文学家协会的苏珊娜▪林▪克里青说：“在寒冷的冬月，厚毛衣、围巾和毯子将是学生基本装备的一部分。”

她指出，教职人员和学生将必须“根据洋葱原则”来穿衣，在通风间隔期间教室温度回升时，他们可以脱去外层的衣服。

德国是首批在第一波疫情之后重新开放学校并在暑假结束后全员复课的欧洲国家之一。

汉堡市的地方政府八月份购买了3万个透明塑料面罩发放给学校。但是地方政府现在告诉学校，塑料面罩不能提供足够的防护，不应再使用，转而要求学生和教职人员在四处走动时佩戴口罩。

(chinadaily.com.cn)